Paperwork needed? to bring DR kids to states

I understand if the person going to the States is poor, it is very difficult to get the VISA they need to study. The reason is because our gov. thinks they will stay, not return to the DR, etc.

I know lots of ESL teachers. Is there an established program at the orphanage? Where is it?

Good luck with the program. If successful, it should be worth the obstacles.

mk

you have it backwards.... The US is worried that they will not return to the DR.......

Hi Angela,

It's our gov. that is hesitant to give the visa. The DR gov. would have to issue a passport. If the child doesn't have a birth certificate, no passport. Another obstacle.

As far as going back to make things better. The key is to find politicians who are interested in really making things better for the poor. They must "walk the talk."

Second, many Dominicans don't want to go back. If they can find a way to stay in the US, make a decent wage, eat rice and beans and send money home - this makes things better - and there's no middle - man on the "foreign aid."

In Santiago, in the late 60's, you had to boil the water you drank. There was poverty and illiteracy everywhere, children selling peanuts in the streets, digging for clothes in the garbage of the rich, grown men looking for work cutting grass with a machete, machantas riding donkeys through the streets selling fruit and veggies, and others selling live chickens, etc. There were apagones almost every evening, and the indoor plumbing couldn't accommodate toilet tissue.

A prominent University hired an American MSSW to live there and teach "Community Development" to Dominican students in the school of Social Welfare. He sold everything and moved his family to the DR. He had learned Spanish from the migrant workers on the farms in Wisconsin. An old VW bus, a washer, dryer, fridge, and b&w portable tv were their luxuries. Nobody else spoke Spanish. A cook who knew the local ways was a necessity.

Many eager Dominican college students learned the latest information and did many studies throughout the cibao valley. How many students and professors have followed in these footsteps over the years?

Today in Santiago, you have to boil the water you drink. There is poverty and illiteracy everywhere, children selling peanuts in the streets, digging for clothes in the garbage of the rich, grown men looking for work cutting grass with a machete, machantas riding through the streets selling fruit and veggies, and others selling live chickens, etc. There are apagones almost every evening, and the indoor plumbing still can't accommodate toilet tissue.

Is it the professor, or maybe the students changed their minds about making a difference? I doubt it. You don't study Social Work unless you really have a desire to help.

Things have not changed much in over 30 years. The past is an example of what hasn't worked. In the future, new innovative ways might help.

There are many people on this board who share your desire to help improve the lives of poor Dominican children. Myself included.

Perhaps your fellow students and professors have some ideas about change. Instead of trying to fix the poverty and illiteracy, how 'bout some ideas on convincing the "tutumpotes" of the value of change for the poor?

IMHO
mk

This would be a daunting process.
If the children were total orphans, it would be super, extremely difficult for the paperwork to be completed. If there was one parent alive, you would need to budget about RD$3,000-RD$4.000 per child just for the paperwork, and that is if some good hearted soul were to do the errands for free?? Not likely. for one case perhaps it could be done gladly, but for multiple cases, I do not think it practical.
In fact that kind of money, well spent at the orphanage per child would certainly guarantee a fine education.
After all where would they go to study in the States?? If they were to live and work in the DR (not, please, the Dominican), they would need the best Spanish available and English perhaps as a Second Language, not the reverse...
While I applaude your good will, I do not think it is practical.

Mkohn's reaction is interesting. Yes, a few of those things are still here, but I have never had to boil the water, and the burros are no longer seen except in their salchichon form- at least that is the speculation. Alas, we seem to have lost the vast majority of the marchantas, too. As for the grown men looking for work, those are few and far between nowadays...more of an exception rather than a rule-yes there are shoeshine boys around, perhaps more than we would like, but they do provide a nice service, usually obtaining money and a meal if their timing is right...
The apagones in your old neighborhood are getting scarcer with the new deal with Enron, but places like Tamboril are having long periods w/o lights, as are some of the barrios. This will take years to fix..
Ah the Social Workers.....not many of them are doing that kind of work anymore. Black Santos is a PhD and works with the Kellogg Foundation roving all over South, Central and Caribbean America looking at projects. Maritza Garc?a is re-married and in Puerto Rico...Wonder if she is working....over there there is lots of Federal money for Social Work...Fernando Teruel is coaching basquetball more than anything else....Can't for the life of me remember too many others of that group...Martha, your Dad, Leticia are all gone, and with them the mystique of loving and working with people that need help...
Oh well, let me post this before the lights go out??

HB

Canyongirl, where is the orphanage located that the kids are coming from?

If you speak Spanish I have some contacts who you can speak to who have tried this process before. Unfortunately, it almost always fails. It is possible, but a paperwork nightmare (especially with orphaned kids, though an organized orphanage will have their documents for each kid arranged and on file). But on the other hand one of my best Dominican friends is studying abroad here right now, though he is college age, an English and French major and his English is impeccable.

I do know people who may be willing to help you though, depending on where all this is going on.

As far as what MKohn said, just because a group of people are given the best training in urban development doesn't mean they are going to be able to cure all of the long-term ills in a country like the Dominican Republic. From what I hear, things have most certainly improved in Santiago since the 60's. No children have ever tried to sell me peanuts...

It's can be an up hill battle.
Hopefully the kids who sold peanuts grew up to drive a cab in Santo Domingo or Puerto Plata, or other better paying job, as opposed to growing up to try to wash windshields at traffic lights, sell trinkets or rent lawn chairs and fetch drinks for tourists on the beach.
Unless I'm mistaken, a kid can't go to a public school after 6th grade unless he has a birth certificate. Social reform is possible. Education is the key.
Ahorita can take a long time...

canyongirl, your heart is obviously in the right place. Good luck.

I'd suggest you also post in the Legal section, explaining what you want to do and asking whether there are any legalities that you should be aware of. It would be good to get the thinking of our resident legal expert, Fabio Guzman, but he only reacts to posts in the Legal section.

Are u a social service person also? I would love to see if there would be some type of service I could get into in DR. U had wrote me earlier please feel free to contact me about interests in social service or mental health field which I am trying to find out about.
Thank you